and found that effectiveness varied depending on the nature of the training, how long
the training lasted and how the subsequent behaviour was measured.
Inhibition training is one of many change techniques that can be used to alter
impulsive processes. A review of 92 studies focusing on changing unhealthy eating
highlighted 17 separate techniques that have been tested, including inhibition training,
implementation intention formation, avoidance training, cognitive restructuring,
thought suppression and mindfulness training (van Beurden et al., 2016, in press). This
review highlighted the need for more research on these change techniques, especially
experimental research with those at greatest health risk such as overweight and obese
people.
Implementation intention formation, or if-then planning, has proved promising as
a technique that can help the motivated change their eating patterns (see Chapter 7
and van Beurden et al., 2016, in press in relation to unhealthy eating). Luszczynska
et al.(2007) added a single training session focusing on if-then action planning to an
existing group-based weight loss intervention. Recipients who were randomly assigned
to receive this additional training session lost twice as much weight over a
2 month follow-up and 54 per cent lost 5 per cent of body weight compared to only
8 per cent in the unenhanced intervention. Moreover, increased self-reported plan -
ning was found to statistically mediate the effect of the enhanced intervention on
weight loss, that is, the change in self-reported planning accounted for the difference
in weight loss between the intervention and control group. This is consistent with the
hypothesized mechanism of action, namely increased if-then planning led to improved
behavioural control.
Consideration of if-then planning as a technique to change impulsively regulated
behaviour patterns emphasizes two important points. First, when applying the IMB
model to intervention mapping, we need to match change objectives and, therefore,
our choice of change techniques to the needs of the target population. The intervention
objective identified by Luszczynska et al.(2007) was not to increase knowledge
(by providing information) or to increase motivation (by using fear appeals or other
attitude-change techniques) because the target group was well informed and highly
motivated. Instead, the training focused on acquisition of a particular cognitive skill (if-
then planning), which has been found to help motivated people act on their intentions.
Second, unlike the conditioning techniques we considered above, if-then planning
involves boththe reflective and impulsive systems. The plan is formulated by activating
the reflective system but the pairing of a cue (the ‘if’) with an imagined response
(the ‘then’) has the capacity to change impulsively regulated processes when the cue
is encountered following training, which is to prompt a new response to the cue.
Breaking unwanted habits by changing the operation of the impulsive system may
require use of multiple change techniques targeting various regulatory mechanisms
delivered using various methods tailored to the target population (stages 3 and 4 of
intervention mapping). Dean (2013) discusses the stages involved in ‘habit reversal
therapy’ for people with Tourette’s syndrome. The objective of this intervention is
to reduce the incidence of unwanted, unconsciously elicited behavioural tics. The
therapy focuses on becoming aware of the tics and the situations in which they occur
and then practising a competing behaviour. The therapy is effective but is also
intensive, involving more than 10 hours of therapeutic contact (McGuire et al., 2014;
Piacentini et al., 2010). Reconditioning the impulsive system is rarely easy.
208 MOTIVATION AND BEHAVIOUR